LEAP have not received support from Scottish Government Keep Scotland Beautiful Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) this year. This has unfortunately meant some changes in our team and impacted the support available to our communities.

We had hoped Climate Challenge Fund would support our planned Brighter Warmer Renfrewshire Project including activities for energy advice in local homes, environmental education with schools and groups, and a focus on single use plastic and litter reduction in Renfrewshire. This outcome has resulted in 8 valuable dedicated members of LEAP team being subject to compulsory redundancy.

Local Energy Action Plan (LEAP) SCIO (SC044019) voluntary Board of Trustees continue to run LEAP as an environmental charity and social enterprise. LEAP Carclub and LEAP business consultancy continue long-term as sustainable social enterprises. In the short-term our energy team will continue to deliver our committed energy efficiency measures for those at risk of or living in fuel poverty. We will endeavour to secure further funding to continue to deliver this very valuable and needed work for those most vulnerable in our communities.

We are committed to our dedicated practical climate change action through supporting individuals, families, groups, organisations and businesses across Renfrewshire to reduce our carbon footprints. We are actively seeking new business and funding opportunities to support this work into the future. Our huge thanks to our fantastic LEAP Team over the years, all our voluntary board of trustees past and present, and all of you in our communities who have taken part, supported and inspired us to collaboratively deliver our actions on climate change.

Any questions, ideas or joint working opportunities, please do get in touch!

Thank you

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On the 15th of January together with LEAP I visited with Renfrewshire Council at Renfrewshire Recycling Centre in Paisley. This was to gather more information surrounding the change in bins regarding the new green and blue split recycling system, to allow us to understand and spread the reasons why this change has been made. The reason Renfrewshire Council now separates paper, card, and cardboard recyclables from plastic, cans, and glass is due to the council now sending these different recyclable materials to different recycling plants. This is designed to reduce cross-contamination and increase overall levels of household recycling. This aligns with Scotland’s Zero Waste Plan to reduce the overall waste going to landfill and increase the percentage of waste recycled. Renfrewshire Council household recycling rate is currently 47.8% by weight, at time of print, with the target being 70% by 2025. League tables of household recycling rates per council are regularly published by SEPA so you can compare how different council areas are doing.

For everyone, of course, this is a learning process and we learned that common mistakes can be made with wrong items going in the wrong bins. There is an item search facility on the Renfrewshire Council website where you can search for common items and which bin they should go in. I asked what were the main issues found with things in the wrong bins and some common items were Pringles tubes and other similar products made from mixed materials joined together which cannot be recycled, shredded paper which should be composted or put in the grey waste bin if you don’t home compost, garden items such as plastic pots being put in garden waste, and plastic bags which can be recycled locally at supermarkets but not in the council bins. In the context of recycling and garden waste, there is an issue if you put grass clippings and general recycling into plastic bags before putting it into the bin itself. This means that the contents of the bag can no longer be processed as recycling or garden waste and must be put into landfill. This can be frustrating for everyone involved, it is an easy mistake to make but try to avoid placing items for recycling and garden waste into bin bags.

After picking up your bins your waste goes through further screening processes to reduce contamination. These include hand picking and processing machines to increase further the amount of waste that is recycled. The waste is randomly sampled at processing facilities and the council are charged for contaminated waste within a percentage band of contamination – this charge increases with the percentage. At time of print this percentage is 17% for Renfrewshire Council. So it makes financial sense for us all to reduce the amount of waste cross-contaminated and going to landfill, as this would mean less council budget being spent on waste, and more available for other services.

It was also interesting to find out the challenges that the Renfrewshire council face with waste. Around 30% of households in Renfrewshire do not have a single entrance front and back door per property, for example high-rise flats and terraced housing with closes. This can produce waste storage issues where high densities of people live. To support the rollout of the new bins Renfrewshire Council surveyed residents living in these homes (~18,000) to ask for their contributions to developing solutions and some examples include shared bins allocated where appropriate to allow more space in shared outdoor spaces, and the option of a half bin if residents tend to not fill a full bin on a regular basis, these options can all be replaced by individual bins on request if you subsequently need to. There is also the exception given to larger families or families with three or more children in nappies; a 60L bin if required. Renfrewshire Council have waste officers who will work with individual households on request so if you have any specific bin issues to your household you should get in touch with them.

Next month I will be writing about my diet and being beef and dairy free, the challenges involved, and thoughts on why we might all make a move towards veganism.

We at LEAP are delighted to have been part of the journey to creating this beautiful eco-refurbished space for flexible childcare supporting Linwood families and the wider community. We started our joint working with KLAS Care on this project way back in 2016 securing funds through British Airways Carbon Fund and PureLeapfrog to carry out eco-refurbishment and energy efficiency upgrades to the former East Fulton Primary School Janitors house; the bungalow which KLAS Care obtained through council asset transfer after it had lain derelict for many years.

Through the skills and determination of KLAS Care directors Lesley Compston and Kirsty McKenzie; match funding and securing further investment against the initial BA Carbon Funding through LEAP meant the project could grow and add an extension to the building and transform it into the fantastic hub it now is, for childcare and the wider Linwood community. Well done all at KLAS Care C.I.C!

Don’t forget our LEAP Linwood Family Support Project offers free practical assistance focused on Linwood and Johnstone residents who are struggling with fuel bills and comfort at home. If you think you or someone you know could benefit from this programme, please contact LEAP in confidence via our contact form or call us on 01505 612 034.

If you or anyone in your family is struggling with fuel bills, health conditions, or living in cold, damp, or draughty homes LEAP’s Energy team will carry out practical actions to help to improve your home’s warmth and comfort and save money in the long term.

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At Local Energy Action Plan (LEAP) we are committed to protecting your personal data and to handling it responsibly.

Because of the new data protection law that’s coming in on 25th May – ‘the General Data Protection Regulation’ (GDPR), we’ve updated our Privacy Policy to give you more information about what we do with your personal data and about your rights.

You can click here to see our new Policy and if you have any questions or concerns about how we use your personal information please contact us.

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Alasdair and Jen had a great time at Lochwinnoch Primary School World at Work week. Thanks to all the students and teachers for making us feel welcome and asking lots of interesting questions.

We brought in our Thermal Imaging cameras for students to try them out and talked with all the classes about Thermal Imaging and it’s many uses and in particular how LEAP use it to help people locally to find where heat is escaping from their homes.

We also held a Thermal Image Competition where students drew a picture of their own homes and where they thought heat might be escaping.

If you’d like us to come and take thermal images of your home to help find any issues such as cold spots, damp, blocked pipes, air locked radiators, structural damage or heat escaping, we’d be very happy to, please just contact us.

If you’d like us to come and talk to your school or group we’d be very happy to, please just contact us.

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LEAP has launched ‘Making It Happen’ – a Renfrewshire-wide programme of FREE practical assistance for residents who are struggling with fuel bills and comfort at home this winter.

Supported through Renfrewshire Council’s Tackling Poverty Programme, the service aims to reach a minimum of 80 fuel poor and vulnerable persons, who are struggling with fuel bills, health conditions, or living in cold, damp, or draughty homes, across urban and rural Renfrewshire by 31st March 2017. LEAP’s Energy team will carry out practical actions to help to improve warmth and save money in the long term.

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LEAP are delighted to announce that we have been recognised as one of only 6 projects across Scotland for Energy Action Scotland Community Energy Action Award!

The award recognises not-for-profit organisations who work with communities in Scotland to reduce fuel poverty, improve energy efficiency and make homes more affordable to keep warm. LEAP were selected to receive this independent award from a Scotland-wide pool including community groups, charities and other third sector organisations, local authorities, health agencies and other public and statutory organisations.

LEAP will represent our community through the delegate place awarded at the EAS Annual Conference 3-4 November 2016 and we will use the £1,500 monetary award to support vulnerable and at risk local households through activities targeting household affordable energy and energy efficiency and to highlight the issue of fuel poverty in our rural village communities.

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Join us at ReMode’s launch evening on Friday 17th June at 7pm, 39 High Street, Lochwinnoch, PA12 4AB. Find out more about ReMode, our unique boutique, run by and for young people upcycling and re-designing youth clothing for their own designer label!

Get the latest information about ReMode’s plans for regular and free Mend and Make Do, Bike Maintenance, Film-making and other workshops for the wider community. Refreshments will be served.

For more information or to confirm you’re coming along contact Gillian Steel at gillian@myleapproject.org or call 01505 842 530.

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LEAP are delighted announce that we have been successful in gaining funding from the Scottish Government, Climate Challenge Fund to deliver LEAP Calder and Gryffe Community Project and LEAP Yep! Youth Engagement Programme for another year!

A huge THANK YOU to you our community – you have been integral to helping to shape our work at a community level to make a real difference to local lives and homes

LEAP Calder and Gryffe Community Project supports local individuals, families and community groups across Lochwinnoch, Bridge of Weir, Brookfield, Crosslee, Houston, and Kilbarchan to reduce the amount of energy we use in our homes, in our daily lives through learning and practical action. Our LEAP Calder and Gryffe Community Project will focus on areas of support highlighted within these neighbouring communities through our ongoing consultation and will strive to be an integrated part of our local communities as a local trusted and impartial source of advice, learning and delivering action to help residents improve carbon efficiency at home and in their wider community.

Our LEAP Yep! (Youth Engagement Programme) project is devised by and for young people across the communities of Lochwinnoch, Bridge of Weir, Howwood and Kilbarchan. LEAP Yep! 2016/17 will realise a new community resource in the form of ReMake Unique Boutique (RUB), a clothing swap shop and workshop space. From this base we will run a programme of reuse and maintenance sessions, pop-up events and social gatherings – taking a lead role in delivering some of these ourselves to share our learning and environmental vision across the wider community.

Keep watching our LEAP website, Facebook, and Twitter feeds to find out more about the next phase of events, activities, actions and ways to get involved.

Thanks again – you our community are what makes LEAP work and we’re delighted to continue into a strong future together!

LEAP will support KLAS Care Community Interest Company (CIC) by transforming the currently unused and dilapidated East Fulton Primary School Janitors House into a modern eco-friendly space through installing energy efficiency and renewable energy measures.

This external wall insulation can reduce heating bills by up to 33% making homes feel more comfortable and, as energy prices continue to rise, could prevent even higher bills in future. The work can also improve the appearance and energy rating of the building. It can cost over £9,000 to carry out external wall insulation on a whole house. In this programme the external wall insulation is accomplished free of charge for 14 eligible households. We’ve been oversubscribed for this scheme and works are underway in Bridge of Weir and Lochwinnoch. If you’d like to be considered for similar future works please click here to contact us.

Householders can also make a voluntary contribution to the cost which would enable us to have more local homes insulated. You can also donate to LEAP using the yellow Donate button on our homepage to contribute to this fund.

LEAP External Wall Insulation Project Bridge of Weir – BEFORE

LEAP External Wall Insulation Project Bridge of Weir – AFTER

LEAP together with Renfrewshire Council also accomplished a successful pilot free solid wall insulation project in 2014 carrying out external wall insulation to 7 hard to treat local homes in Lochwinnoch (the PA12 postcode area project)

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Our Carclub Coordinator and talented film-maker Mike has produced a series of short 5 minute films giving an idea of the work we do and benefit to our community, here’s the first, our LEAP Energy video.

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Green Homes Bus Tour – visiting local homes that have made energy efficient changes including renewable energy systems, find out what you could achieve in your own home! Places are limited, so pre-booking is essential.

Bike Swap and Bike Maintenance – swap or donate a bike, learn basic repair and maintenance techniques. Don’t pack your bike away for the winter – learn how to check it over for not-so-fair weather cycling! Places are limited, so pre-booking is essential.

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Are you, a family member, or a neighbour struggling with bills, living in a leaky damp, cold, home that’s hard to keep warm?

We can help.

We do free home repairs and actions to improve the warmth and comfort at home for those who can’t afford it and need it most.

We have already helped over 30 local people in our community with practical repairs and actions in their homes. Some examples include filling holes around doors and windows to cut out draughts, fixing and insulating leaky pipes, adding secondary glazing to single glazed windows to keep the heat in.

Our energy team are experienced and reliable and we also work with local tradespersons. No job too small.

If you or anyone you know might need help to make your home more cosy or make someone’s life easier please get in touch with us on 01505 612034, email: jen@myleapproject.org or click here. All enquiries are as always treated in the strictest of confidence.